Hello,I read the book for type A last year. I don't know why I don't still have it. But my PA suggested giving it a try again. So here I am...... with digestion issues for 6 months. Lost tons of weight in a bad way. I eat as healthy as I think I am supposed to. But time for a new direction.

I cut out red meat a month or so ago. And other than that, I need the book(s) again and other help.

Hello,I read the book for type A last year. I don't know why I don't still have it. But my PA suggested giving it a try again. So here I am...... with digestion issues for 6 months. Lost tons of weight in a bad way. I eat as healthy as I think I am supposed to. But time for a new direction.

I cut out red meat a month or so ago. And other than that, I need the book(s) again and other help.

What does anyone suggest? Thanks for any and all help!! Emily

So looking around I found the genotype test and secretor test. I think I will start with those. And get the books back to follow type A diet. Does anyone have opinions on the SWAMI thing? Is it helpful?Thanks again,

Not necessarily. The GenoType testing kit includes taster strips, fingerprinting material and a protractor. I always use the kit material, since it makes things easier. But many people do it without the kit.

If you are going to do SWAMI there is help in the software and videos online telling you how to do the measurements. Although it is hard to know if you taste a piece of paper or not, if you do not not have the paper.

The best would be the oldest books Eat and Live right... to get a good grounding of why and how..

Then after some time, it will be time to get a SWAMI .. a computerized list- more specific to your genes.

To answer to the many questions you may have in time to come, is to read and learn and study hard what others here are talking about.

Swami is great as a online shopping list, but it is a limited tool for further education. Education of the self, everyday is most valuable - serving you well for your future food adjustments, from where you are now, to where you plan to go.

Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!

As you can see, we all have our own viewpoints. These gems of advice are all good. The blood type diet and genotype diets are different programs, coming at good health from different perspectives. The BTD helps us make the most of the body we have and the genes we have inherited. The GTD helps us make our genes work for our benefit, by activating the positive traits that may not have been active in our genetic line; and 'putting to sleep' the harmful genetic tendencies that may have followed our family line for many generations.

No matter which diet you choose to begin, it's good to get a solid understanding of what it means to be a blood type A. I like LR4YT best for this purpose. It's also helpful to get a secretor test for the same reason - self understanding. Approx. 15 to 20% of people are non-secretors and that does affect your food list.

I have progressed through all the programs and have liked them all. For me, BTD was easy to follow, easy to understand, and my health improvements were good.

The GTD was more difficult for me to connect with, but I stuck with it for a few years. I lost some weight that I had not been able to drop, and a few more health issues diminished.

The SWAMI program has felt like a perfect fit from the beginning. It is tailored more closely to my own specific body and the food options feel natural. With both the Genotype diet and the SWAMI, the work is in taking accurate measurements. I must have measured and re-measured 25 times. Finally, I felt that that I understood how to do it correctly and I pulled it off successfully. It has definitely been worth the effort and investment.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I have had trouble gaining weight, although I am on a medication presently that can cause weight loss. I am also stressed a lot, and that causes digestion problems.

I am working with getting off the medication slowly, but am really wanting to eat the best foods for my body to heal through this whole process. I was recently told that eating protein and starch at the same meal was detrimental to digestion. Does anyone know about this and/or have any opinions?

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I have had trouble gaining weight, although I am on a medication presently that can cause weight loss. I am also stressed a lot, and that causes digestion problems.

I am working with getting off the medication slowly, but am really wanting to eat the best foods for my body to heal through this whole process. I was recently told that eating protein and starch at the same meal was detrimental to digestion. Does anyone know about this and/or have any opinions?

Thanks again for any help!Emily

Welcome Emily,

Your gut apparently needs healing if you're having trouble gaining weight. Consider the Polyflora and Deflect A supplements to speed up the healing. You'll likely feel better a lot sooner supplementing while eating right for your type.

I also have had a lot of digestion problems and yes combining meats and starches, especially animal protein with high carbs, can slow down the digestive process, particularly for us A's who have low levels of HCL in our stomachs. However, there are times it can't be avoided. I like to chew on crystallized ginger or ginger crystals to speed up digestion. I also try to avoid drinking anything with meals, and if I am thirsty I will only drink an ounce or two of room temperature water or sometimes a small cup of tea. DO NOT drink large amounts of cold liquid with a meal. It will dilute the already low amounts of HCL you have in your stomach to digest your food. BTW, I use the Teacher activator for this, but we still don't know what your genotype is.

Good luck and I wish success for you on your new journey.

ColeenISF-J, Non-Taster"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:26-27

Your gut apparently needs healing if you're having trouble gaining weight. Consider the Polyflora and Deflect A supplements to speed up the healing. You'll likely feel better a lot sooner supplementing while eating right for your type.

I also have had a lot of digestion problems and yes combining meats and starches, especially animal protein with high carbs, can slow down the digestive process, particularly for us A's who have low levels of HCL in our stomachs. However, there are times it can't be avoided. I like to chew on crystallized ginger or ginger crystals to speed up digestion. I also try to avoid drinking anything with meals, and if I am thirsty I will only drink an ounce or two of room temperature water or sometimes a small cup of tea. DO NOT drink large amounts of cold liquid with a meal. It will dilute the already low amounts of HCL you have in your stomach to digest your food. BTW, I use the Teacher activator for this, but we still don't know what your genotype is.

Good luck and I wish success for you on your new journey.

Thank you Adopted4 for your information. I have to drink large amounts of water in the med situation I am in now. What is a good time window to wait before or after meals to drink? I also make sure I eat every two hours as I have had blood sugar issues with the med in the past and am trying to avoid any new episodes.

I was recently told that eating protein and starch at the same meal was detrimental to digestion. Does anyone know about this and/or have any opinion

I do NOT agree with this at all. First, if you have issues with blood sugar control ie. diabetes, pre-diabetes or hypoglycemia then you would be better served to have a serving of protein or fat with a serving of starchy foods. This will ultimately prevent blood sugar spikes due to persistent hyperglycemia or blood sugar crashes due to having hypoglycemia aka too much insulin.

Second, unless you have extremely poor digestion their is no need to separate what you eat based on timed intervals. Many people have very poor digestion because they eat too large portions at one time. Smaller portions of food allow for better digestion. Some people might need digestive enzyme supplements for a brief period of time, but after eating normal sized portions of food many will find they are no longer needed.

I do NOT agree with this at all. First, if you have issues with blood sugar control ie. diabetes, pre-diabetes or hypoglycemia then you would be better served to have a serving of protein or fat with a serving of starchy foods. This will ultimately prevent blood sugar spikes due to persistent hyperglycemia or blood sugar crashes due to having hypoglycemia aka too much insulin.

Second, unless you have extremely poor digestion their is no need to separate what you eat based on timed intervals. Many people have very poor digestion because they eat too large portions at one time. Smaller portions of food allow for better digestion. Some people might need digestive enzyme supplements for a brief period of time, but after eating normal sized portions of food many will find they are no longer needed.

Thanks for your opinion. I have poor digestion...but I don't know exactly what it is from yet. Likely stress.....

Yes, drinking enough water with certain meds is important. I usually drink 20-40 minutes before a meal (while I"m cooking or preparing a meal), and then again a half hour to hour after a meal. Although, sometimes I take supplements after breakfast when I prefer to drink a little grapefruit juice (4 or 5 ounces).

As far as the secretor test goes, the processing time primarily depends on if you do the blood test or saliva test. My dh and I did the secretor blood tests last winter as we thought only the blood secretor test was available at the time. Because we requested being contacted via e-mail versus snail mail our results came in the same day the samples arrived at the lab. A year or so earlier we purchased a saliva test that we used to test one of our sons and he got his lab results via mail. I think those results came in just under 2 weeks.

ColeenISF-J, Non-Taster"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:26-27

I do NOT agree with this at all. First, if you have issues with blood sugar control ie. diabetes, pre-diabetes or hypoglycemia then you would be better served to have a serving of protein or fat with a serving of starchy foods. This will ultimately prevent blood sugar spikes due to persistent hyperglycemia or blood sugar crashes due to having hypoglycemia aka too much insulin.

Second, unless you have extremely poor digestion their is no need to separate what you eat based on timed intervals. Many people have very poor digestion because they eat too large portions at one time. Smaller portions of food allow for better digestion. Some people might need digestive enzyme supplements for a brief period of time, but after eating normal sized portions of food many will find they are no longer needed.

The original poster wrote about poor digestion and did not write about blood sugar issues. I think the "food combining" could be helpful, and it's a shame that SWAMI doesn't provide it.

My SWAMI diet is a blend of BTD and GTD Explorer, but I'm not totally compliant. Also I try to choose foods that have a Low Glycemic index. DW and DD are A+, probably also Explorer.

I am working with getting off the medication slowly, but am really wanting to eat the best foods for my body to heal through this whole process. I was recently told that eating protein and starch at the same meal was detrimental to digestion. Does anyone know about this and/or have any opinions?

Thanks again for any help!Emily

The idea of keeping starch separate from animal protein is a part of food combining. I think it would be worth your while to try it.

Also have you discussed the poor digestion with the doctor who prescribed the medication? Some meds can interfere with food absorption; it might be a side effect.

My SWAMI diet is a blend of BTD and GTD Explorer, but I'm not totally compliant. Also I try to choose foods that have a Low Glycemic index. DW and DD are A+, probably also Explorer.

I forgot to tell you that gingko biloba and ashwagandha are a couple supplements that lower stress and cortisol levels, if you think that has a lot to do with your digestive difficulties. I've used them both recently at different times and they both seem to help with stress, anxiety, and sleep problems for me. They are both good choices for type A's.

ColeenISF-J, Non-Taster"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:26-27

I forgot to tell you that gingko biloba and ashwagandha are a couple supplements that lower stress and cortisol levels, if you think that has a lot to do with your digestive difficulties. I've used them both recently at different times and they both seem to help with stress, anxiety, and sleep problems for me. They are both good choices for type A's.

Thank you for all your suggestions. At this time, I have to be careful with supplements as they aggravate the symptoms from the med. I am weaning off slowly as the withdrawal symptoms can be horrendous. This situation is challenging.

I found yesterday when I did try to separate the starch and proteins that I felt worse. So today I am continuing on the pattern of eating that my PA told me to follow for my blood sugar. I have also cut out some foods that might be triggering some of my digestive problems for blood type A. I will miss my coconut oil and butter terribly! But am glad to find that I might be able to eat oats again. I had cut them out thinking they were giving me distress.

I have ordered the tests for Genotype and Secretor (saliva). Although I have read some posts where people report errors or changes with their secretor status, which is a bit disconcerting. Is it possible for the body to change that status over time?

Thank you for all your suggestions. At this time, I have to be careful with supplements as they aggravate the symptoms from the med. I am weaning off slowly as the withdrawal symptoms can be horrendous. This situation is challenging.

I found yesterday when I did try to separate the starch and proteins that I felt worse. So today I am continuing on the pattern of eating that my PA told me to follow for my blood sugar. I have also cut out some foods that might be triggering some of my digestive problems for blood type A. I will miss my coconut oil and butter terribly! But am glad to find that I might be able to eat oats again. I had cut them out thinking they were giving me distress.

I have ordered the tests for Genotype and Secretor (saliva). Although I have read some posts where people report errors or changes with their secretor status, which is a bit disconcerting. Is it possible for the body to change that status over time?